The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 100

100. Traditional Play (4)

– Kuaaaaa!

The massive black dragon roared. A few of the A-ranks flinched back at the roar filled with heavy pressure. A fear resistance message popped up in front of my eyes and then disappeared. My ears hurt.

– Well, then.

Liete raised her long neck and looked down at the humans. If you ignored the Alps-like backdrop on this bright spring day, it was a plausible dragon versus human scene. Although I was completely left out of that versus. It’s not that I wasn’t involved, but was I like a prize for winning?

Being clutched in a dragon’s forepaw under the clear blue sky, I really felt like I was going crazy.

– I will kidnap the princess! If you have the confidence to face me, defeat my subordinates and come to the top of that tower!

I wonder what Yoohyun is doing right now. I hope the kids are playing well without fighting.

– Honey, at times like this, you should scream, ‘Save me, Prince!’

“No.”

Why is Sung Hyunjae just watching? Of course, it would be easier if Liete just backed off like this. Still, it’s too much to just stare with the expression of someone about to open a bag of popcorn.

Ggrrr.

Liete’s hind paw scraped the ground. The tightly packed leg muscles under the hard scales twitched.

– Hold on tight, honey~

Hold on to what, damn it. Wait a minute.

Koo-woong!

The three paws kicked off the hill powerfully. With a sound like thunder rumbling, the ground shook and cracked, and earth and sand poured down. The black giant soared into the air, trampling and crushing the small hill like a sandcastle.

For a moment, I felt a pressure that made my ears go numb, and then I heard the roar of the surroundings collapsing again. It was the fortress walls. The fortress walls that were still relatively intact, as well as the buildings around them, and even a relatively small tower, crumbled under Liete’s footsteps, with a single flick of her tail.

In the meantime, the connection to Teacher Skill was cut off, and I couldn’t see anything properly except for dirt and black scales. I was tempted to use Teacher Skill on Liete, but if I fainted now, I really wouldn’t be able to handle it. I wouldn’t be surprised if I woke up tied to the top of a tower in a frilly dress, with lightning striking around me, a dragon rampaging, poison filling the air, and Noah crying… something like that.

If I said that staying focused would lead to a different result, well, at least I wouldn’t have to wear a dress. That’s a very big difference.

– Han Yoojin!

Then I heard Noah’s voice. I was grateful that he had come after me, but when I thought of his frightened eyes, I couldn’t help but worry. I didn’t want Noah to overdo it because of me.

“Noah, don’t come alone, ugh!”

The forepaw holding me shook violently, and Liete stood up on her hind paws. One of her forepaws firmly gripped the base of the massive tower. Noah’s figure was faintly visible beyond the black, undulating scales. Even a platinum dragon was by no means small compared to a human, but now he looked like a chick in front of an eagle.

– Krrrr!

Noah, making a ferocious guttural sound, clung to the black dragon’s head. He set his claws and gnawed at the scales with his teeth, but with one rough headbutt from Liete, he was thrown off.

Liete also had poison resistance and curse resistance, so all that was left for Noah was hand-to-hand combat… which was obviously no match.

How could they be twins?

“I’m okay, so come with Sung Hyunjae!”

Noah, who had been circling around, changed direction as if he had no choice. Liete, who was climbing the tower, looked down at me with sparkling eyes.

– Honey, you’re really talented at raising kids? How long has it been since he attacked me like that?

I was dumbfounded by her delighted tone. What *are* this person’s parenting standards?

The massive dragon was somehow managing to hold up the central tower, even as she climbed it, digging her claws in. Liete gently placed me inside the round balcony at the top of the tower, as if throwing me.

The room inside was quite spacious, as the tower was large. Judging from the faint traces of carvings and the decorations on the high, rounded ceiling, it must have originally been quite luxurious. The scratched table and chairs, and the cabinet with its door missing, all looked high-end. The decorations were all gone, leaving only the frames and tops, but the bed, judging by its size alone, was also no ordinary thing.

“Honey~”

I was absentmindedly walking into the room, looking around, when I heard Liete’s voice from behind, having returned to her human form. …Was it okay to turn around? I lowered my gaze and glanced only at my feet; she was properly wearing shoes and clothes.

“Even after a full shapeshift, your clothes are intact.”

“I applied curse skills. I can only apply it to A-rank equipment yet, though.”

So you can use it like that. Her abilities are really something. Liete, who had strode in, placed a picnic basket on the table. When did she even pack that?

“When I was five years old, my dream was to be an evil dragon in a fairy tale~”

“Congratulations on fulfilling your dream.”

“Everything’s great, but the one thing I regret is not having wings. Originally, I should have spread my wings *meot-itge* [멋있게 – stylishly, coolly] and soared up there to make it perfect! Next time, I have to make a more *meot-itgo* [멋있고 – stylish and cool] and perfect exit. Should I get a flight skill?”

What next time? End it with this one time.

“So, what should we do now? Eat me?”

Liete tilted her head and said.

“Why would you eat a hostage? You have to keep them safe until they come to rescue you. If you’re hungry, eat a sandwich from the basket.”

I don’t know if there are any sandwiches. I suddenly wondered what Sung Hyunjae had packed. He probably didn’t pack it himself, and someone else around him, like his secretary, probably prepared it, so it might be surprisingly ordinary.

Liete had taken the only chair, so I went to the bed and sat down. Sung Hyunjae would take care of it, so I should take advantage of this free time to sort things out.

‘Originally, Sung Hyunjae joined hands with the cult, and he was going to betray them later, but because I regressed, it was exposed.’

The cult seemed to know about what happened before the regression. That’s why they tried to kill Sung Hyunjae by dragging in MKC, Sudam, and even Liete. I don’t know why they’re interested in me, though. Do they know I regressed?

‘Then Sung Hyunjae is on the system’s side… or something?’

I’m not sure yet. Rather than siding with either side, wasn’t he just planning to eat the crumbs and then ditch them? Or maybe he’d just side with whoever he felt like.

“What are you thinking so hard about, honey?”

Liete, who had approached silently, stopped in front of me. When I raised my head, I saw her golden eyes shining with a strange light. Since it was a slightly dim room without lighting, she was holding light like a cat.

“Liete, how did you end up being cursed or brainwashed?”

This is also important. Liete, an S-rank, and a born S-rank at that, followed someone’s orders. That meant the same method could work on other S-ranks.

At my question, Liete pouted as if she was upset.

“I don’t really know, but there were some creepy guys who had been hanging around for a while. I first found out about them about three years ago? It was not long after I awakened. They approached me, saying they would help me become stronger faster than others, but I felt bad and kicked them out. Then they kept pestering me, asking if I was curious about why the world had changed like this, and they also offered to give me item or skill information.”

Three years ago was very early. Liete, Sung Hyunjae, and even Yoohyun. Did they only approach the born S-ranks first?

“You refused them well.”

I think I would have been tempted.

“It’s boring. If they had said, ‘Listen to the one who fights and wins!’ I might have accepted? Of course, with a revenge clause attached. Anyway, I kept refusing, so they tried to mess with my younger sibling, so I beat them all up whenever I saw them. Then they became quiet for a while. For over two years?”

My expression naturally soured at the mention of them trying to mess with her younger sibling. I wondered if Yoohyun had distanced himself from me even more because he was in a similar situation. There must have been enemies like Yoon Kyungsoo. But I thought the main problem was the cult or whatever.

It seemed like he couldn’t say anything properly because he was being silenced.

“But recently, they suddenly appeared and gave me an order. …To the firstborn of the Curse Poison Dragon, Dio Valshesis.”

Liete’s voice dropped. Her eyes took on a subtle murderous intent.

“Yeah, that bastard. That bastard felt a bit similar to me. A higher-ranking Curse Poison Dragon.”

“Curse Poison Dragon?”

If that was a higher-ranking one, was it because of the Dragon Slayer title that Liete was freed from the order? Or maybe it was the combination of Rauchitas’s nemesis and curse resistance. If what bound Liete was the Curse Poison Dragon’s curse, then my curse resistance skill would have had twice the effect.

Whichever it was, it was a really fortunate coincidence…….

‘…A coincidence?’

Curse Poison Dragon. This dragon species, and only this dragon species, keeps popping up. Following Rauchitas from before the regression, Dio Valshesis, who shouldn’t have existed originally, and even the cult’s side. …The blackie is probably a real coincidence, though.

If, just if. If Rauchitas, a Curse Poison Dragon, appearing in the dungeon I entered wasn’t a coincidence.

“Honey!”

“…Huh?”

Liete leaned down and rubbed my cheek with one hand.

“You’re still special, I guess.”

“Ah, well, I’m not ordinary.”

“But unlike before, you’ve gotten softer?”

The corners of Liete’s lips curled up. An ominous premonition struck the back of my head. I expected that my condition would be exposed as soon as we met again, but.

“Everyone thought that even if your stats were F-rank, it wasn’t true. But today, you can’t do anything to me? Even if it was because other people were watching earlier… you still seem soft now. How is it?”

“How is it what.”

I opened my mouth, fiddling with the beads on my necklace.

“I tricked you when we first met.”

“Really? That’s amazing. So, your stats are F-rank now, right?”

“Yeah.”

And then my body was pushed back. Hey, wait a minute.

“What are you trying to do!”

“What I was going to do back then~”

I thought she wouldn’t get angry that I tricked her, but it’s so different from what I expected. Damn it, let go. Don’t tear my shirt.

“Turn back into a dragon and hang on the tower! That’s your dream, isn’t it!”

“What? You like my shapeshifted state? Your taste is unique. I like it.”

…Crazy, why isn’t Sung Hyunjae coming? It’s been long enough for him to have swept everything away. Don’t tell me he’s wasting time playing with those poor people again.

Then, with good timing, I heard Noah’s flapping wings. Sung Hyunjae jumped into the balcony. I didn’t know how he had released the attribute sealing item, but lightning once again dwelled in the chains wrapped around his forearm, flashing.

He was later than expected, but he came just in time.

“I’ve come to rescue you, Princess!”

…That damn human shouted excitedly. I’m sad that I can’t tell him to get lost. Change the role, you old man. Do you want to play the prince at your age? Switch with Noah.

– Han Yoojin! Are you okay…….

Noah, who had been sticking his head into the balcony, panicked and quickly backed away. Damn it, Liete. You startled the kid. Noah probably thinks his sister is with his sister… Let’s end the thought there.

Sung Hyunjae also looked at the two of us as if he was surprised.

“Was it an adult movie disguised as a fairy tale?”

“Stop talking nonsense and play your role and defeat the dragon.”

“Want to do it together?”

Liete! Liete, who had thrown a crazy joke, giggled and bounced up. The longsword that was already in her hand cut through the air, and Sung Hyunjae’s figure disappeared from that spot in an instant.

Swish.

A sound like cutting paper was heard. But what was collapsing was a stone mass. The balcony that had been cut off diagonally fell, and then the walls and ceiling cracked.

“Now, shall we dance for the ending? Sorry, Princess. For stealing your dance partner!”

“Take him as much as you want. You don’t even have to return him.”

Tell her to just leave the skill.

Liete leaped up through the collapsing tower. Her body disappeared downwards in an instant. Then Sung Hyunjae jumped up, holding me in one hand and the picnic basket in the other.

Kwarururu!

Whatever Liete did from below, the entire massive central tower collapsed, not just the upper part. Sung Hyunjae, who had soared into the air, stepping on the collapsing walls, landed on Noah’s back, who was flying around.

“Please take good care of our lunch.”

Sung Hyunjae, who had placed the shirt he had taken out of his inventory on top of the picnic basket and hugged it to me, twisted his body and fell downwards.

“Excuse me, Noah.”

I used Teacher Skill on Noah and checked the situation. The central tower had completely collapsed, and dirt and dust rose like fog.

Charrr!

The Seeker’s Chains stretched out endlessly, embedded between buildings and crossing the sky. Sung Hyunjae turned his upside-down body right and lightly landed on it. As soon as his toes touched the chain, he slid down as if gliding, and right in that empty space.

Kwagwagwagwa!

A sword strike, wrapped in a whirlwind of dirt and dust, struck. The chains were cut off and the ground was overturned. Even the buildings that were still relatively intact were all cut off like paper. Everything within a dozen meters of the surroundings was intricately fragmented and scattered.

“…Noah, you must have suffered a lot.”

Noah nodded silently, but clearly. Choi Seokwon’s attack was quite powerful, but that was… almost a different level.

Even with Noah’s vision, I couldn’t see through the inside full of dirt and dust. But Sung Hyunjae wasn’t just passively taking the attack. The cut-off chains had already disappeared, and light swirled.

Kurrrung!

The air trembled first, as if terrified, and what followed was a storm of electricity. The remains of the collapsed tower popped up like popcorn kernels, charred black, and crushed to pieces. The intense light that seemed to burn the optic nerves made me and Noah reflexively close our eyes, and what we saw immediately after opening them was the building site that had been swept away in black.

Sung Hyunjae, who had swept away all the dirt and dust and the remains of the building as if they were annoying, stood tall in the middle of the destruction. I couldn’t see him well because of his ambiguous position, but that human was definitely smiling.

The same was true for Liete. She was squatting on top of a pile of swept-away buildings, giggling and slowly releasing poison. Her long tail, swaying behind her, was visible. With black thorns set menacingly, she was crushing brick chunks like mashing boiled eggs.

And once again, violent power clashed with power. The fear resistance message popped up again. How many times is this?

Well… there’s nothing I can do about those things. Should I check what’s in the picnic basket?